Indy a favorite memory for Shawn Johnson

Being in Indianapolis again takes Shawn Johnson East back to the days before she was in the spotlight.

As Johnson walks around Monument Circle in Downtown, she isn’t always thinking about being the famous retired Olympic gold medalist brought in to do publicity appearances for Team USA’s Road to Rio tour.

Sometimes, she is surprised people still ask for her autograph. Of course, she’ll happily give them one with a handshake and a smile, but afterward she sends fans over to the stars of today — current gymnasts such as Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas.

The glory of today and now belongs to them, along with the other members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team. For Johnson, this city brings back memories of a 13-year-old girl competing in her first USA Gymnastics National Championships.

“It was such a monumental transition point in my career, going from the competitive gymnast to an elite gymnast making the USA National Team,” said Johnson, now 24, Saturday afternoon. “Everything about Indy and where we ate, where the party was, how the competition was, it was always my favorite memory.”

Fitting she would also fall in love with Andrew East, a son of Indianapolis who took his standout football career at North Central High School all the way to the pros as a long snapper for the Oakland Raiders. Johnson likes to think their shared connections to Indy made them “destined to be together.”

Guy East, a professional cyclist and the oldest of Andrew’s three brothers, must have thought something similar when he met Johnson at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Once Guy heard she was looking at going to school at Vanderbilt, he insisted on connecting her with Andrew, who played football there from 2010-14.

Andrew East said he spent the next five months trying to persuade her to visit campus before she finally made it to Nashville.

“I got her down there and we went to the CMA (Music) Fest,” East said, adding they shared a love for country music “We kinda just fell in love right then and there.”

The couple married April 16 this year in Nashville and will be leaving for a honeymoon cruise on July 16, but plenty of public appearances between now and then will keep them busy.

Johnson likes being able to travel with her husband, mostly because seeing him enjoy the Olympic experience for the first time helps renew her own excitement in something that has felt routine since she was about 14.

East still marvels at the work she does, watching her take the time to sign autographs and shake the hands of the 400-plus people waiting in line to meet her. Thus far, his life as a professional football player doesn’t compare.

“It’s not even close,” East said, laughing. “She’s the hotshot of the relationship. I’m just trying to hold up my end of the deal.”

In addition to hosting gymnastics clinics and doing motivational speaking, Johnson is a personal trainer for Nike with a focus on CrossFit. She also recently published her third book,  “The Flip Side,” a young-adult novel inspired by her experiences as a teenage gymnast.

As often as she gets to talk and write about her career, Johnson appreciates times like this weekend in Indianapolis when she can reflect on being a young athlete working for her chance to “be on the grand stage.”

She said she now feels far enough away from her retirement in 2012 to “just embrace” the excitement of being a spectator and fan of the Games, no longer feeling the pressure of performing in front of the entire world.

Still, Johnson’s prestige as a former Olympian makes it hard for her to completely forget how much of an impact she made during her time in the spotlight.

“Every once in a while, I get comments (from girls) like, ‘You’re the reason I started gymnastics,’ ” Johnson said. “To me, that’s a shock value because I remember watching Mary Lou (Retton), Shannon Miller and thinking to myself, ‘I just want to be like them someday.’

“To have these girls telling me similar things that I thought about others, it’s surreal.”